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PAINT – what to use, in and out??

toolbear | Posted in Construction Techniques on February 18, 2009 05:46am

PAINT – what to use, in and out??

@@@

The HO at this remodel has asked what paint I would recommend for interior, exterior.

(Not an issue here, as the painters will do their thing, but it’s a good question. I told him I would ask the folks at BT.)

The people who do this for a living probably have some well-developed opinions.

The ToolBear

“You can’t save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice.” Dogbert

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  1. skipj | Feb 18, 2009 06:18am | #1

    Well, exterior is easy for me. Sherwin Williams Duration, hand applied, over a hand applied, high quality oil primer.

    Here's a story: When Duration first came out, I used it on a Pergola over a hot tub on a beach house. So, marine environment, steam, full exposure. A couple of years ago the client wanted to sell, so we went in for a spruce up. Pressure washed the Pergola, and it looked like new, after about ten years in that environment. Oh, also this is in the Seattle area, so mold is rampant.

    Duration contains 'proprietary polymers'-read, SW invented them and ain't licensing them to other manufacturers, so they are it for top line exterior paint. My subs are astonished when I spec it; my clients get asked how often they want to repaint.

    The problem with Duration is it costs $50 a gallon, in 5's, to the trade. Also, it's wasted if you use inferior painters.

    Interior: Top of the line Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams will be fine. Stay out of the box stores. Check to see if the oil enamels in your state have been modified into uselessness by enviro regulations (See: California). Those are worse than the best latex enamels, which, again, will cost you.

    Hope this helps.

    1. toolbear | Feb 18, 2009 06:43am | #2

      ... Interior: Top of the line Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams will be fine. Stay out of the box stores. Check to see if the oil enamels in your state have been modified into uselessness by enviro regulations (See: California). Those are worse than the best latex enamels, which, again, will cost you.@@@Tnx for the insights. This is SoCal, so I expect the oils are useless, but PC. Mean I can't run down to Home D and get some Behr? <g> (HO and I share a dislike for Behr.)The ToolBear

      "You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert

      1. peteshlagor | Feb 18, 2009 07:44am | #3

        Consumers Reports just came out with their interior paint studies again.  Some weird juice called Behr Premium came out on top...

         

        1. alwaysoverbudget | Feb 18, 2009 08:26am | #4

          how does behr win the top spot every year. i mean maybe it's decent paint,but i can't believe there is anyway that it beats sw or porter.

          or are pro painters just stupid and like to spend more and get less?

           YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'TMOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THEDUCT TAPE.

          1. toolbear | Feb 18, 2009 03:57pm | #5

            how does behr win the top spot every year. i mean maybe it's decent paint,but i can't believe there is anyway that it beats sw or porter.or are pro painters just stupid and like to spend more and get less?@@@We use it all the time. On these little repairs, you are not getting the de luxe line, nor would the condo associations pay for it. Habitat uses it all the time (got a deal).However, when the wife won a gallon of Dunn Edwards and used it, she was estatic, "It covers in ONE coat!." We never knew that was possible <g>.The ToolBear

            "You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert

          2. Hiker | Feb 18, 2009 04:05pm | #6

            I have asked my local SW store to get some info as to why SW paints do so poorly in the Consumer Reports studies.  I get it once every couple months  for clients about how Behr did so well and SW did poorly in Consumer Reports.  I hope the SW people can come up with something.

            Bruce

          3. peteshlagor | Feb 18, 2009 04:33pm | #7

            Now as I understand, Behr has three lines of paint:

            Sheet.

            Pizzwater

            Decent stuff. 

            I'm thinking the decent stuff gets into these studies.  And the sheet and pizzwater goes into everyone's shopping carts.

          4. DonCanDo | Feb 18, 2009 05:07pm | #8

            I don't think that's true.  Home Depot (where most, if not all, Behr paint is purchased) only carries one line.  They call it Behr Premium Plus.  I'm not a big fan of it, but it's a decent paint.

          5. cudavid | Feb 18, 2009 05:25pm | #9

            A second vote for SW Duration, wel worth the price!

    2. dockelly | May 20, 2009 06:47pm | #10

      I'm doing my house at the beach in the coming weeks, one block from the ocean and 3 blocks from the bay. When you used duration, was it on bare wood? Did you apply a primer or just the paint. How many coats?ThanksKevin

      1. wane | May 20, 2009 06:56pm | #11

        SW duration interior, I liked,

        cieling paint was poor, 

        exterior I'd give a failing grade, I sanded, primed (at least 3 coats), and painted exterior (at least 3 coats),vert 1 X 6 pine in a covered porch, knots still blead through ..

      2. Shep | May 21, 2009 02:30am | #13

        Its best to use a primer, especially in the shore environment. It really does help the paint stick to the wood.

        And I like to stay with the same product line if/when I paint.

         

        BTW, I played Farmstead on Sunday. I shot 92, with a 10 on that first par 5. I got into the trees on the right, and tried to just punch out. But I kept hitting branches and kicking back in. 4 times, I think. Can't keep that ball low LOL

        1. dockelly | May 21, 2009 03:11am | #14

          I was just thinking of you.  Was going to send you an email about golf, but since you brought it up here.....

           

          Just got back form Myrtle Beach 2 weeks ago.  4 days of golf, all I've played this year.  Shot 102-3, 3 out of 4 rounds.  Than a blow up 125 after a night on the town, me and a few guys had headaches that day.  The last course was brutal, bunkers with steps, WTF!

           

          Regards to paint, I'm on the fence about BM vs. SW.  I can get the BM at about 40% off, employee discount, but I'd rather spend the extra 200 bucks if SW was the better paint.

           

          We got to get out some Thursday before it gets to hot.

           

          Kevin

          1. Shep | May 21, 2009 04:38am | #16

            I was in Myrtle from April 18 thru 25, the week of the big fire.

            We played the Tradition, International, one of the Sea Trail courses, Eagle Nest, Arcadia Shores (the worst of the week), and Possum Trot. I was in the low 90s, except for one round of 99.

            Which course had the steps in the bunkers? I played a course in Alabama that had them. Once in the bunker, I couldn't see anything. It was just a big, deep hole in the ground.

          2. dockelly | May 21, 2009 05:40am | #18

            You gotta be kidding, I was there 4-22 to 26, stayed at legends. Mooreland, I think, at Legends had the steps.

          3. Shep | May 21, 2009 02:48pm | #22

            Did you get stuck in any of the smoke?

            The day we played Eagle Nest, in North MB, we were driving up 17 thru smoke so thick that we couldn't see more than a couple hundred yards ahead of us. We all were about ready to turn around and go back to the condo.

            But when we got to the course, there was barely a light haze. So we played, of course.

            We stayed at the Carribean, on Ocean Blvd., right next to the Captain's House restaurant.

          4. dockelly | May 21, 2009 03:17pm | #23

            We could see the smoke but it didn't get near us.

          5. DonCanDo | May 21, 2009 05:24am | #17

            I can get the BM at about 40% off

            That's a huge discount, I wish I could get that.  As a professional painter, I get 10%.  Look into the Aura exterior paints.  They're (supposedly) comparable to SW Duration.  The only thing that keeps me from using the Aura paints more than I do is the price, but if you can get it discounted 40%, that brings it in line with most other paints.

          6. dockelly | May 21, 2009 05:41am | #19

            Actually, I was told he can't get any discount on Aura.

          7. Yersmay | May 21, 2009 05:46am | #20

            If you're in Southern Calif., you could try Dunn Edwards. I think it's excellent paint. I like it even better than Benjamin Moore.

          8. toolbear | May 22, 2009 02:13am | #24

            I would love Dunn E, but I seem to wind up at Home D.We pressure washed the sooty areas, let them dry, primed them with Kilz and have been painting five shades of green and one stucco tan for the last two days. Looks OK.Five bloody shades and no color chips to mention. When I have charge, there are paper plates painted up with all the colors, several for each shade and the project, use and color data on each can lid.The crew that demoed the ruins did not save a thing with paint on it. I wound up removing a hinge to get a door color, removing a railing picket for that shade, using a flake off a rotted beam for that color, etc., etc. I tried color matching with a stucco chip - just bought 2 g. Good thing. Much more brown. Then thought - the downspout leader box is the wall color and smooth. Tried that for 5g. Close match, but not quite. This place has not been painted in years and everything is faded. How much depends on the exposure.The ToolBear

            "You can't save the Earth unless you are willing to make other people sacrifice." Dogbert

          9. peteshlagor | May 21, 2009 07:15am | #21

            California Paint always comes out on top of Consumers Reports exterior paint studies.  Including the latest rag on the stands now.

             

      3. skipj | May 21, 2009 03:32am | #15

        They say that you can use two coats without using a primer, but I always hand-apply a good oil primer. Then top coat with Duration. Good luck!

  2. webted | May 20, 2009 11:19pm | #12

    We used the Behr Premium for an outbuilding, and it held up reasonably well (Pac. NW) with no obvious fading/mildew/peeling problems for the four years until we moved out.

    We used a lot of Schreuder Obolux/Eurolux (Fine Paints of Europe) in our last house, and it is in a completely different performance and price class (you're up over $100/gallon), but you can actually scrub the flat with a nylon sponge without damaging it - it has an almost oily texture. There is a learning curve to applying it, as it needs to go on thin without overworking. The semi-gloss/eggshell is ideal for a kitchen if you like rich, saturated tones that can be scrubbed. We had some up for over 5 years before we moved out, and it still looked like it was fresh on the walls.

    More recently, we've been on more of a budget. I was leaning towards P&L, but based on the recommendations at the local paint supply (Dalys of Seattle/Bellevue - they're the guys that make benite) we went with a C2 LoVo for two rooms in our current house, and I was pleasantly surprised. Both my wife and I are chemists, so trust me when I say the "solvent odor" to latex paint just doesn't matter to us - but it was a noticeably nicer to work with. Still needed two coat for good coverage over heavy orange peel texture, but we're pretty picky that way. The folks at Dalys thought the performance was better with C2 than with Aura, and easier to work with than P&L (they sell all of them).

    Our experience was good enough to where we just picked up the C2 exterior alkyd primer and paint for some cedar trim work. It's only been up two weeks, so all I can say is that it's waterproof! We had it custom color matched to go with the color of our aluminum clad windows, and I was very pleased with the result.

    -t

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